Making space for the future

When we think about significant industrial sectors in Ireland a few things come to mind: agri-food, of course, information technology, and pharmaceuticals. What we tend to think of less frequently is manufacturing and precision engineering. This might be a mistake, though, said Charlie Coughlan, chief executive and founder of Panalok Limited.

Indeed, taken together, Irish manufacturing produced products with a total value of €132 billion in 2022, according to Central Statistics Office figures.

“There's a lot of activity, we have a lot of people manufacturing automotive parts, electronics, aerospace parts, medical devices and most of it is happening in the Midwest-Shannon area,” he said.

Coughlan would know, having been involved in manufacturing since 1960, starting with Standard Pressed Steel (now Hi-Life Tools) before striking out on his own.

Founding Precision Steel (PSC) in 1980 starting with two employees in Galway. He then started Panalok Ltd in Ennis with a colleague in 1986. Precision Steel went on to become Penn Engineering in 2001 and both companies grew significantly over the last 40 years. Coughlan is still involved in both, but is also a founder and the chairman of industry body the Irish Precision Turned Parts Manufacturing Association (PTMA).

Couglan oversaw expansion into new markets, including setting up plants in China and Malaysia, and with the PTMA is now looking to the future of manufacturing in Ireland.

“I had 20 years with SPS, most of it in Shannon with assignments in the US and Germany over that period, and then I went on and founded my own business in 1980. I grew it to 90 employees and it now has 350 employees,” he said.

Ireland has expertise and capacity in manufacturing, he said.

“We have companies making fasteners, and in aerospace and automotive, and medical devices. If you consider something like micro screws for manufacturing, which means less than 2mm diameter, you see those used in things like computers and smartphones,” he said.

In Ireland today there are around 400 companies in precision engineering, with about 80 involved in PTMA. Coughlan now wants to expand on initiatives including education and training, starting with holding the one-day event Manufacturing Solutions, to be held at TUS’s Coonagh Campus.

To be held on 12 June, TUS, the PTMA and the Gauge and Tool Makers Association (GTMA) will host 80 companies at Manufacturing Solutions, demonstrating developments precision machining, measurement, computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided modelling (CAM), and manufacturing software.

For Coughlan, events like Manufacturing Solutions are a vindication for the industry, which he is happy to see being taken seriously.

“This will be the first event in the new building. It's a fine facility, and will cater to the entire engineering facility.

“When I founded Precision Steel, it was a very lonely place in terms of things like getting technical knowledge but in the last ten years we've developed a strong relationship with TUS, who have developed level 6, level 7 and level 8 courses in precision engineering leading to a degree” he said.

The latest technologies will be present at Manufacturing Solutions.

“More and more, the industry is moving toward ‘Industry 4.0’, which means, among other things, it's becoming paperless. Also, predictive maintenance is growing,” said Coughlan.

However, Coughlan, who himself set up a training school in Moyross, said that the exhibition will also seek to promote careers in precision manufacturing, including with five presentations on women in manufacturing.

“We're trying to attract more people into the industry. As things stand, people tend to migrate toward things like healthcare and tech. Precision engineering is sometimes considered old hat but the truth is that it is very high tech – and without precision engineering you have no cars, no bicycles, no phones,” he said.

Indeed, the lure of access to technology as a component of a career is part of what Manufacturing Solutions wants to promote, Coughlan said.

“It's the Fleadh Cheoil of our industry. We all meet every year, and the tie-up with the colleges is very, very strong. It’s a great partnership”.